Texas was rated a “Disaster Declaration” for public education by a survey conducted by the Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a union representing 66,000 members in K-12 and higher education.
The survey, which included 3,200 responses from K-12 teachers, higher education educators, and retired teachers, found that three in four public school employees are experiencing burnout, almost 70% (comprising teachers, librarians, bus drivers, custodians, and nurses) are looking to quit their jobs, and roughly one in five work a second job after school to sustain themselves.
“The teacher retention crisis is here, and Texas educators are ringing the fire alarm. They’ve heard a lot of promises from politicians, but they have seen little action.”
zeph capo
Texas AFT members said that the two things, higher salaries and manageable workloads, which would encourage them to keep their jobs, have not been addressed by Texas lawmakers.
The organization attributes the results of the survey to a lack of funding in public schools and political turmoils. Across the state, students are facing the brunt of a teacher retention crisis, a teacher shortage, and layoffs due to budget cuts. For example:
- The enrollment at Fort Worth ISD dropped by 19% in fall 2023,
- Houston ISD’s enrollment has also dropped by 6,000 students from the 2022-2023 school year and around 26,000 from the 210,000 enrolled in 2019, and
- Districts such as the Fort Worth ISD and Spring Branch ISD announced staff downsizing due to budget cuts.
Making matters worse, despite a $32 billion surplus going into the 88th Texas Legislature, lawmakers allowed $0 dollars to state public education.
“The teacher retention crisis is here, and Texas educators are ringing the fire alarm. They’ve heard a lot of promises from politicians, but they have seen little action,” said Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT.
Higher education employees cited high costs of living and low pay, stress and burnout as the primary causes for their discomfort with their profession. Among them, more than half the members are considering leaving their jobs.
Moreover, the turnover rate for teachers in the 2022-2023 school year was 21.4% — an 81% increase from the 2009-2010 school year, according to Texas Academic Performance Reports from the Texas Education Agency.
Simultaneously, Gov. Greg Abbott’s school voucher plan is raising debates among public school members, including students and their families. Many contend that Abbott refused to allocate any of the state’s $32 billion surplus to the state’s K-12 public schools because after the regular session and four special sessions, he was not able to rally enough support to pass his voucher plan. Voucher plan opponents argue that vouchers take away public education funding. It has also formed the foundation for K-12 members’ plan to vote on the premise of public education.
“I’m optimistic that this state and its educators are equally motivated to turn out around these issues,” Capo said, referring to last year’s proposition election that saw 83.73% of voters approving proposition 9 on cost-of-living adjustments for those who met the Teacher Retirement System of Texas criteria.
